Explore alternative assignments to exams

Why and when to use assignments that are not exams 

Standard tests and exams offer information about what students know and don’t know. In certain contexts, it may be important to assess students’ knowledge by means of an exam.

For instances where you want to look at how students apply acquired knowledge, then an exam may not prove useful. Alternative forms of assessment can allow you to see what students can and cannot do, versus what they do and do not know (TMU, 2021). In other words, they tend to evaluate applied proficiency, allowing for problem solving and reflection, rather than merely providing facts as answers to specific questions (Indiana University, 2025).

Alternative assignments to exams may even be advantageous in promoting student learning and be more authentic means for students to demonstrate what they have learned at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (e.g., synthesis, analysis, evaluation) (UC Berkeley, 2025).

Many instructors use a combination of exams and other assignments in their courses to determine both what students know and what they can do. You might find that what’s right for your course is to have a mix of tests or exams and alternative assignments. 

How will you know which assignment type works best?

The learning outcomes for your course are central in helping you determine what type of assignment will allow you to gauge your students’ learning. Given that your context greatly impacts assessment choices, there is no hard and fast rule when determining whether to choose an exam or an alternative. 

For example, you can assess critical thinking with multiple choice questions and with an annotated literature review. If you’re teaching a large class with little or no grading support, the exam will be your better option. In both cases, work to keep students’ learning at the forefront of your assessment choice.

Ask yourself the following questions to reflect on what aspects of your students’ learning you’d like to assess: 

• What should students be able to know or do to successfully complete this assignment or exam?  
• Do students need to develop higher or lower-order skills? 
  • Tip: Use Bloom’s taxonomy to determine this. Higher-order skills (e.g., create, evaluate, apply critical thinking skills, etc.) are generally less well served by an exam as the means of assessment.  
• Will your students be practicing disciplinary knowledge, real-world knowledge, or a combination of both? 
• Are you concerned with looking at the process as well as the final product? 
• What will be the assessment criteria? And at what level or standard should students be able to perform or demonstrate learning? 
• Do you want to assess any of the following: writing ability, speaking skills, creativity, use of technology or collaboration? (TMU, 2021) 

The answers to these questions will help you determine whether an exam or an alternative assignment will work best to gauge how well students are learning. 

Other considerations

There are also other considerations to keep in mind beyond students’ learning that will impact your choice: 

• Are specific time constraints important? (e.g., is this an assignment due before the DISC deadline?) 
• At what moment during the term is the assignment due? Will there be time for feedback to be incorporated or is it a summative assessment with students completing a module or course? 
• What are your workload concerns? Formative assessments with iterative feedback loops place more demands on your time.  
• “Success” is generally harder to measure in an assessment that is not an exam and as a result grading can be more subjective. Using a well-designed rubric can help in this regard.

Alternative assignments can be either formative or summative assessments. Summative assessments serve to assess student learning, usually against a benchmark, at the end of a unit, module, course or program.  

Given that alternative assignments focus on students’ learning and progress, work to build students’ capacities, and measure how they are faring on the learning outcomes, they are generally formative. If you assign a high-stakes project that isn’t broken down into multiple parts or scaffolded and for which students don’t receive any feedback, then your alternative assignment to an exam is summative in nature. 

Well-designed and executed formative assessments are considered a valuable approach to supporting student performance (Morris et al., 2021), a valid means of assessing higher-order abilities, such as analysis and critical thinking (Brookhart, 2010), and generally motivating for students (Leenknecht et al., 2020). Formative alternative assignments give you the opportunity to evaluate process alongside the final product, which is proving increasingly relevant in the age of generative AI. Importantly, formative assessments allow instructors to see where students may be having difficulties and offer students opportunities to improve by incorporating the feedback they’ve received.

Alternative assignments as inclusive assessments

Inclusive assessment refers to the “design and use of fair and effective assessment methods and practices that enable all students to demonstrate to their full potential what they know, understand and can do” (Hockings 2010). Varying the assignment type allows more students the opportunity to align their strengths, interests, learning preferences and abilities (Concordia, 2023). Providing choices and variety in assignments, including choice between different topics and between different assignment formats, can also reduce the barriers that some students face, such as exam or performance anxiety.  

Similarly, among the recommendations around assessments in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are: 

• Include frequent formative assessments. 
• Reduce unnecessary barriers to access. 
• Support learner variability through flexible assessments. 

Learn more about these UDL tips.  

If you need guidance about whether your assessment is accessible for students with accommodations, visit the faculty information page of the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD).  

Examples

Explore the sections below to learn more about different types of assignments and see if they are right for your context and course’s learning outcomes.

Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to assess higher-order thinking skills in your classroom. ASCD. 

Concordia University, Centre for Teaching & Learning. (2023). Demystifying inclusive pedagogy. https://opentextbooks.concordia.ca/demystifying-inclusive-pedagogy/

Hockings, C. (2010). Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: A synthesis of research. EvidenceNet. https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/inclusive_teaching_and_learning_in_he_synthesis_200410_0_1568037026.pdf 

Indiana University, Bloomington, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2025). Authentic assessment. https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/assessing-student-learning/authentic-assessment/index.html  

Leenknecht, M., Wijnia, L., Köhlen, M., Fryer, L., Rikers, R., & Loyens, S. (2020). Formative assessment as practice: The role of students’ motivation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(2), 236–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1765228

Morris, R., Perry, T. and Wardle, L. (2021). Formative assessment and feedback for learning in higher education: A systematic review. Review of Education, 9(3), e3292. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3292 

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. (2021). Best practices in alternative assessments. https://www.torontomu.ca/learning-teaching/teaching-resources/assessment/#!accordion-1553785922968-alternative-assessments 

UC Berkeley, Center for Teaching & Learning. (2025). Alternatives to testing. https://teaching.berkeley.edu/teaching-strategies/assessing-learning/alternatives-traditional-testing